By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Renowned communications and development expert, human rights defender Sierra Leonean born Makmid Kamara has been appointed by the International Fund for Public Interest Media as its inaugural regional director for Africa and the Middle East.
‘’Building on the launch of the International Fund for Public Interest Media’s first operational phase, announced at the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day in May, the appointment of Makmid Kamara as the inaugural Regional Director for Africa & the Middle East is a crucial step in further developing the International Fund’s work in the region,’’ the international Fund for Public Interest Media said in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement, Kamara will guide the International Fund’s strategy and grant-making across Africa and the Middle East and will join Irene Jay Liu, Regional Director for Asia & the Pacific, and Vanina Berghella, Regional Director for Latin America & the Caribbean, in guiding the International Fund’s regional activities and grant-making.
Makmid Kamara is a Sierra Leonean human rights leader, democracy advocate, and development communications practitioner, with almost 20 years’ experience working with national and international development, human rights, and grant making organizations in Africa and the United Kingdom.
He is the Founder of Reform Initiatives (LBG), an organization dedicated to harvesting the dividends of democracy and contributing to reforming broken systems and structures. Until recently, he was the founding Director of the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), based in Accra, Ghana.
At ATJLF, Kamara’s focus was on transitional justice and reparations for historical crimes. He led various collaborative efforts around reparatory justice issues and TJ mechanisms meant to repair the wrongs of the past in selected African countries.
Prior to the ATJLF, Kamara worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London as (Ag.) Deputy Director of Global Issues and Head of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) Team; served as interim Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria and as a West Africa Researcher.
Kamara has also held posts with Oxfam GB in Sierra Leone and the UK, and with Concern Worldwide in Sierra Leone. Kamara started his career as a journalist in Sierra Leone and has written several articles and reports on human rights and social justice issues for high-profile African and European publications and institutions. He is a Rotarian, a Global Atlantic Fellow, and an Obama Foundation Leader- Africa. He is based in Accra, Ghana.
